A New Beginning
by Jade Daniels
Summary: Kagome is getting married and Inuyasha watches.


**Disclaimer:**  _The characters of Inuyasha don't belong to me.  Too bad.  ^_^_

**Author's Notes**:  _I'm proud to say that this fic was the winner of the 2002 Sakuracon short-story fanfiction contest!!  I hope you enjoy this too.  ^_^_

**A New Beginning**

**By: Jade Daniels**

            "It's not too late."  A small voice reached his ear.  "You still have a chance."

            Inuyasha, a dog-demon from the Feudal Ages of Japan, gazed down at the tiny flea demon that was hanging from his necklace of prayer beads.  Even though the submission spell from the beads had long been removed, Inuyasha still kept the necklace as a reminder of her.  It was the only thing of hers that he had left.  His golden eyes narrowed as he looked at Myoga; he hadn't even realized that the flea demon had followed him. 

            Inuyasha picked up Myoga between his thumb and forefinger.  "What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

            "She is not married yet," Myoga explained, looking like he was ready to bolt at any moment.   "There is time for you to tell her."

            "Feh!  She doesn't love me!"  Inuyasha growled, "If she did, she wouldn't be marrying another man."  He knew that, despite everything, if she had really loved him, Kagome would have come back.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

            Myoga recognized the precarious position he was in, that for someone of his size, being between his master's fingers easily meant that he could be squished if he didn't make the right reply.  Why in the world had he agreed to be the one to approach his master?  After all, none of the others were capable of being squished or stepped on without a moment's hesitation. 

            Carefully choosing his words, Myoga said, "But you do have a chance to say something to her my lord.  All you have to do is....."

            "I'm not going to make a fool out of myself!" Inuyasha cut in with a snarl.

            "But it's the only way!" protested the flea, "She will never know if you do not go to her.  If you do not take this chance...."  Myoga's voice trailed off as he looked at Inuyasha.

            Doubt and hope warred in the dog-demon's golden eyes.  Myoga could see that there was a lot of pride standing in the way of a decision being made.  He knew that Inuyasha couldn't let his ego get in the way this time.  But would the stubborn dog-demon understand that?  If he was too late, then Inuyasha was guaranteed to lose Kagome forever.

            Without another word, Inuyasha suddenly tossed the flea over his shoulder.  From where Myoga landed, he could see his master flying towards the direction of the Bone Eater's Well.  He smiled, relieved to know that the dog-demon would finally reveal his true feelings about the girl.  He only hoped that his master wouldn't be so thick-headed as to start yet another argument.  Otherwise, Myoga and the others would be dealing with that broody demon for another five years.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

            Kagome Higurashi looked at herself in the mirror, finishing putting on the final touches of makeup on her face.  To her satisfaction, she saw that almost all traces of tears had been covered up.  It was a good thing that she was alone in the room; no one would know what she had been doing.  Kagome shook her head, chiding herself for her ridiculous thoughts.  Why did she have to be thinking about this, today of all days?  It was her wedding day!!  The last person she should have been thinking of was _him_.  But she couldn't help it, her thoughts had returned to him, again.  Inuyasha.  Why couldn't that damned half-demon just stay out of her mind?  Even after all these years, he haunted her mind, reminding her of what she had left behind.

            But she also remembered that he was the reason why she had left.  It had been five years ago, a few months after the final shard of the Shikon Jewel had been collected.  Although making the Jewel whole had meant no more searching, Kagome still came back to visit.  She had enjoyed being with the others, despite Inuyasha's insulting attitude.  Of course, the others always said that the dog-demon's attitude had just been a cover-up for how he really felt.  So Kagome had willingly waited, although now she realized how stupid she had been.  She had been a fool to believe that one day Inuyasha would tell her that he did care.

            It had been with one argument that Kagome had realized the truth.  As always, there had been some stupid misunderstanding.  This time, it had involved Kouga, the wolf demon who was convinced that he was in love with Kagome.  Inuyasha had found them, together, and as usual, had jumped to some stupid conclusion.  The screaming match had lasted longer than anything they any of their previous ones.  Their words had been harsh, spoken with more fury then ever before: 

_"Why are you still here woman?  Don't you have to get back to your precious Kouga!!"  Inuyasha sneered at her.  "You're such a slut, always hanging around him!"_

_"How many times do I have to tell you?  He's not my boyfriend!  Besides, it's not like you care, not with Kikyo still hanging around."  Kagome never could contain her jealousy about Kikyo.  The reborn priestess always seemed to have a connection with Inuyasha that Kagome could never touch._

_"That's right, I do have her, don't I?"  Inuyasha snarled, "So why do I need you?"_

            Silence had followed as Kagome had stared at Inuyasha, shock clear in her eyes.  _"Fine."_ she had whispered, _"Fine.  Take the damned Jewel and go be with her!!"_  Those had been the last words she had ever spoken to him.  She had returned to her own time, vowing to herself never to return to the past again.  The other had tried to persuade her differently:

_"Don't go Kagome," Sango said, after learning about the argument and Kagome's decision._

_"Why shouldn't I?" Kagome demanded, not wanting to hear any excuses.  She couldn't stay, not while that half-demon remained.  "It's obvious that I'm not wanted around here!"_

_"He may not show it, but he does care," the demon hunter replied._

_Kagome shook her head.  "No, I've given him plenty of chances Sango.  Too many.    Its obvious he doesn't care about me at all.  All he ever wanted me for was to find the Shards.  Well, they're found.  He has the damned Jewel.  He can do whatever he wants.  I don't care!"_

_"Don't let that idiot dog tell you what to do!" Shippo pleaded, joining the conversation.  "Even if he doesn't care, I do!!"_

_"We all do," Miroku added, for once sounding like he was not trying to hit on her._

_"Thanks guys," Kagome said, smiling sadly.  She shook her head, reinforcing her decision.  "But no, I can't stay.  Not while he's here."  Kagome looked at them all, fixing their images in her mind. _

_"Goodbye."  _

            She left the Feudal Ages of Japan for the final time.

            Kagome knew that she had wanted Inuyasha to come, like he always had before.  Sometimes she would lay awake at night, staring at her window, waiting for him to burst through.  Yet, Inuyasha never came.  

            Eventually, she had started dating, although it was mostly at her friends' insistence.  They still knew nothing of her trips.  Her sudden 'illnesses' had all been cured and she had started attending school regularly again, so there was nothing more for them to worry about.  She had even graduated from high school and had been able to enter university.

            It was at university that Kagome had ended up meeting her future fiancé.  She had found herself thinking that he was practically perfect.  He had been handsome, smart, kind and practically everything she could have asked for.  It had seemed like a dream come true.  They had dated for a year before he had proposed to her.  It had taken much internal debate and many sleepless nights, but she had finally accepted. 

            At the time, she had thought she loved him.  She had thought that she had managed to wipe the memory of Inuyasha from her mind.  She knew now just how foolish she had been.  It was her wedding day.  Today she was supposed to be anticipating this union with her fiancé, a man that she was supposed to love with all of her heart.  Yet what was she doing?  She was pining away after a half-demon from the Feudal Ages of Japan whom she hadn't seen in five years.  There was no use denying it anymore; she still loved Inuyasha. 

            "I'm an idiot," she whispered. 

            "Feh, I could have told you that."  The all-too familiar voice came from the window, startling Kagome out of her thoughts.  She turned towards it, only to find a large figure standing within it.  Most of the light was blocked out, but the silhouette was immediately recognizable.  Kagome could see that he hadn't changed much since she had last seen him.  She found that strange enough; she had expected him to have used the Shikon Jewel by now.  Why hadn't he fulfilled his dream of becoming a full demon?  An unbidden thought came to her mind: maybe Kikyo had the Jewel now?

            "Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, standing up from her chair.

            "Kagome," he answered, dropping into the room.

            "I guess you still can't use a door," she observed, laughing lightly, trying to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere.  He gave no answer.  "W.... Why are you here Inuyasha?"

            "I came to see you," he replied softly, stepping forward. 

            "Oh," Kagome said, turning away from him.  She couldn't face him, not now.  "Thank you...."

            Before she realized what was happening, his hand grabbed her arm.  She was spun around into Inuyasha's arms.  With a surprising fierceness, his lips came down upon hers with an almost bruising force.  As she began to struggle, he lightened the pressure, until he was kissing her with a surprising gentleness.  It didn't take her long to realize that she was no longer struggling, and was kissing him right back.  

            Suddenly, he let her go and looked into her eyes.  He saw shock and confusion reflected in her blue orbs, quickly turning into awareness.  Finally, her eyes narrowed in anger.  She raised her hand, which he deftly caught in his own. 

            "I love you," he said softly.

            The shock was back in her eyes.  "W....What?"

            "I love you," he repeated a bit more forcefully.  She saw a hesitation on his face, almost as if he was afraid of her.  No, not afraid of _her_, but afraid of what she would say.

            She blinked back the unbidden tears in her eyes, shaking her head.  After all these years.... "You certainly took long enough to say it," she murmured quietly, not intending for him to hear.  But with Inuyasha's demon-enhanced hearing, he heard her words anyway.  He remained silent.  To him, Kagome's remark obviously meant that he had waited too long to tell her how he felt.

            Letting go of her hand, he turned towards the window.  "You obviously don't want me here.  I'll leave," he said.

            This time she grabbed his arm.  "No!" she exclaimed, "Don't leave."  She forced him to look at her.  "I love you too."

            "You mean it?" he asked not believing his ears.

            She nodded, a small smile creeping upon her face.  She was about to say more, when her eyes  looked towards the door of the room, and her mind thought about what was beyond it.  Past the slab of wood was supposed to be her future; a marriage to a man whom she could never love.  In this room, lay her past; a love with a man whom she thought hadn't loved her.  Doubts started plaguing Kagome's mind, filling her with fear.  What if Inuyasha regretted his words later?  What if he had done this in some insane spite of jealousy?  It certainly wouldn't have been the first time he had done something, only to later regret it.  But didn't that show that at least, he cared?  Kagome didn't know.  What she needed was reassurance.  She stepped away from his embrace.

            "What's the matter?" he asked, watching at her retreating form.

            "I've waited for so many years for you to say that you love me," she began softly.  "And now today, of all days, you decide to tell me."  She pointed to the door, "There's a man on the other side of that door whom I promised to marry!  What am I going to say to him and to our families?  And...."  She didn't want to say it, but he had to hear what she was thinking.  "And how do I know that you won't regret your words later Inuyasha?  I.... I don't want you making promises that you can't keep."

            "Aren't my words enough?" he growled.

            She shook her head.  "Not today."  Her voice was a mere whisper.

            Slowly, he pulled out the Shikon Jewel from the sack around his neck.  Kagome gasped as she saw the shining crystal.  "I will show you that I mean every word I said to you Kagome."  He looked into her eyes, and Kagome realized what he was about do.  He held up the shining jewel over his head.    "Shikon Jewel, make me a full human."  A sudden flash of light engulfed Inuyasha's entire form.  

            When the light vanished, Kagome found herself face to face with a very human-looking Inuyasha.  She looked at him in amazement, unable to believe what had just occurred.  Gone were the pointed ears, now replaced by smoothly rounded ones.  His golden eyes had deepened into dark brown.  The snow-white hair that she had been so used to, was now a glossy black.  As he smiled, she could see that he no longer had fangs, only human teeth.

            It was something that she never thought she would see.  For so long, he had proclaimed that all he had wanted to do with the Shikon Jewel, was become a full demon.  Instead, he had used it to become a human.  Kagome knew that with the Shikon Jewel gone, she and Inuyasha would be able to live a life together in peace, no longer haunted by demons of any kind.

            "Oh Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms.

            "Have I proved myself to you Kagome?" he asked, his fingers at the nape of her neck.

            She looked up at him, all her love reflected in her eyes.  "Yes, you have."  With those words, she kissed him.  When they parted, she looked into his eyes and whispered, "I love you Inuyasha."

            He grinned.  "I love you...."  Before he could finish, he suddenly gasped, doubling over in obvious pain.  His arms grasped around his torso.  His breath came out in wild gasps, sending Kagome into a state of panic.

            "Inuyasha!" she shouted, "What's wrong?"  Receiving no answer except for more gasping, she threw open the door to her room.  "Someone!  Help!"  Without awaiting an answer, Kagome went back to Inuyasha, kneeling beside him.  The former demon's face was etched with pain.  She wished that there was something that she could do for him.

            "Kagome?"  Someone's voice came from down the hallway.  The sound of running feet was heard, until it stopped at the entrance of Kagome's dressing room.  The bride looked up to see her family standing at the doorway, looking at the entire scene in amazement.

            Sota, Kagome's younger brother, was the first to speak.  "Inuyasha?  What's he doing here?"  He looked at Kagome.  "What's the matter with him?"

            Kagome shook her head.  "I don't know!!  He.... He used the Shikon Jewel to become human!"  She looked down at the dark-haired man at her knees.  "Someone, please help him.  I don't want him to die."

            "And what are you willing to give up, to see that he does not die?" asked a soft voice.

            Kagome looked up, to see that everything around her had suddenly stopped.  Her mother and brother were frozen in the act of walking towards her; their mouths open to say something.  Her grandfather had hung back, a confused look on his face.  Kagome saw her fiancé by the door, an even more confused look on _his_ face.  Kagome felt a sudden flash of guilt.  She hadn't expected him to find out about Inuyasha this way....

            There was a large glowing ball of light in the middle of the room, which rapidly shrunk to reveal a beautiful woman floating in the air.  She was dressed in an old-style armor that was all white.  Her clothing contrasted to the waterfall of ebony hair that surrounded her face.  There was a glowing blue aura that surrounded the woman, which made Kagome think that she was some sort of spirit.

            "Who are you?" asked Kagome.

            "Once, I was known as Midoriko," the glowing woman replied.

            "Y...you're the priestess that created the Shikon Jewel!" gasped Kagome, recognizing the name.

            "Yes," the priestess replied with a small nod.

            "What's happening to him?" Kagome asked, looking back at Inuyasha.

            "He used the Shikon Jewel to make himself fully human," answered Midoriko, "Because of that, his true age caught up with him.  He is aging too rapidly for his body to handle.  He cannot continue without his demon half to keep him young."  It was true, even Kagome could see how Inuyasha's black hair had become white once more, this time because of age.

            It suddenly hit Kagome that this was all her fault.  If only Inuyasha hadn't used the Shikon Jewel, then he would still be living!  He shouldn't have needed to prove his love to her.  His words, they should have been enough.  But because they hadn't been, she was about to lose him, again.  Kagome held him close, never wanting to let him go.  Her tears came unrelentingly down her face.  All her life, she had waited for her soulmate.  For one shining moment, her dreams had come true, Inuyasha loved her!  Yet it was because of that love that he now laid dying in her arms.

            "If only...." she whispered.  If only she could take that moment back and not have Inuyasha use the Shikon Jewel.  She looked at Midoriko.  "Is there anything that can be done?"

            "As a keeper of the Jewel, you have the right to ask for one thing from me," the priestess said.  "Do you wish for him to live again?"

            Kagome nodded, "Yes!"

            "Then I ask you again, what are you willing to give up, to see that he does not die?" asked Midoriko.

            "Whatever it takes."  Kagome knew that to save Inuyasha's life, she would give up anything. 

            Midoriko tilted her head, regarding Kagome with her ageless eyes.  "Even the knowledge of his love?"  Kagome nodded.  "If I do as you ask, you will never know how he feels.  And, he will never know how you feel.  Are you willing to sacrifice this?  Before Inuyasha appeared, you were unhappy with your situation.  You were about to marry a man that you did not love.  Do you want to go back to that?"

            "Yes!  If it means that Inuyasha will live, then please, do it!  I'd rather that he live without my love then die because of it."  Kagome couldn't understand why the woman continued to torture her like this.  How many times must she continuously repeat herself?

            "Very well," the priestess said, waving her arm over Inuyasha's prone body.  In a flash of white light, he vanished from Kagome's arms.  "He has been restored to his half-demon state and returned to where he belongs."

            "And he will live?" Kagome asked, gazing out the window.

            "Yes," Midoriko replied.

            "What happens to me?" asked Kagome, now looking at Midoriko.

            "You will forget," the priestess answered.  "No one shall know of the events that took place here.  It will be wiped from all memory.  Time will reset and neither you nor the half-demon shall meet again."

            "There's no way that I can just remember?"  Kagome looked up with pleading eyes.  "If only to stop him from using the Jewel when he comes to see me?  So that I'll know that he doesn't need to prove his love to me?"

            "That cannot be done," answered Midoriko.  "It must be a complete wipe of everyone, or none at all.  There is no room for compromise.  You agreed to give up the knowledge of his love."  The priestess paused.  "I'm sorry."

            With those words, the priestess waved her arm over her head, creating a light that engulfed the entire room. As it vanished, it took away the memories of all that had happened from everyone in the room and those beyond.  Time now continued on, as if a certain half-demon had never entered the room.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

            Just outside a lone temple, sitting in a cherry blossom tree, was the half-demon Inuyasha.  His thoughts were not on the temple itself, but on a certain person inside.  Today was the day that Kagome was getting married.  He clenched his fist, hating the thought that Kagome was getting married to another man.  But, Inuyasha knew all too well why he would never become her husband.  There had been too many insults, misunderstandings, and not enough friendship.  He had simply waited too damned long to tell the human girl how he felt, that he loved her.

            Myoga had tried talking him into saying something to Kagome.  When he had arrived in Kagome's time, he had thought about doing it.  For a moment - a long moment - he had been very tempted to just leap in through her window, take her in his arms, kiss her and tell her how he felt.  But he hadn't.  There had been something in the back of his mind that had told him that he was too late.  What good would it do to say anything now?  To tell her anything now would be pointless.  As much as it pained him to even think it, Kagome did not love him.  He had lost her, plain and simple.

            Coming to a decision, he stood up on the branch.  His golden eyes gazed towards the window where he knew Kagome to be.  He wouldn't disturb her, not now, not after five years of not seeing her.  She wouldn't want to see him anyway.  This would be the last day he came to her time, and the last day he would ever see Kagome.  He figured that her fiancé didn't know about her trips to the past, and probably never would.  After five years, there was no way that Kagome would ever come back.

            He whispered three words into the wind, letting the breeze carry his message to Kagome's ears.  It was the only way he could say what he felt.  Inuyasha then jumped into the air, flying towards the Bone Eater's Well, never once looking back.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

            Kagome Higurashi sat at her dresser, making sure that all her makeup was put on properly.  She knew that she had covered up her tear-streaked face nicely.  No one would be able to tell that she had been crying over him, again.  It was her wedding day; this was not something that she should be thinking about.  But why couldn't that half-demon just stay out of her mind? 

            She turned her face towards the window, having a sudden impulse to look outside.  As she peered out into the sunny sky, she couldn't help but get an impression that she had missed something important.  The open window blew the gentle wind into her face, bringing the smell of cherry blossoms to her nose.  And to her ears..... to her ears came three words whispered on a breeze.  For a moment, she could believe that those words had been from him.  In that same moment, she whispered back along that same breeze.

            "I love you too."  

            But then Kagome realized just how stupid she was being.  It was all just wishful thinking!  Did she really believe that after five years, Inuyasha would come looking for her?  No, she couldn't do that anymore.  No matter what, she would never even think about that half-demon again. 

            "Kagome?"  She turned away from the window to find her mother standing at the doorway.  "Are you ready?"

            Smoothing out her kimono, Kagome nodded.  "I'm ready."

            Her head lifted high, Kagome Hino followed her mother out of the room.  From this day on, she would only look forward to the future.  She couldn't be stuck in the past forever.  Her life had to move on.  It was time for a new beginning.


End file.
